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Working in Germany in 2026 – minimum wage, contracts, holidays, mini-jobs and recognition

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Germany's minimum wage rose to €13.90 an hour on 1 January 2026, and the mini-job limit to €603 a month. Here is what working in Germany means for you – who may work, what your contract must say, your hours, holidays and sick pay, and how to get a foreign qualification recognised.

Woman with glasses working on a tablet at an office desk
Photo: Jadon Bester/peopleimages.com/Adobe Stock

If you start working in Germany in 2026, several numbers have just moved. The statutory minimum wage has been €13.90 gross an hour since 1 January 2026, up from €12.82, and rises to €14.60 on 1 January 2027. The mini-job limit rose to €603 a month on the same day. New sector minimums apply in care and temporary agency work from 1 July 2026, and since 1 May 2026 a federal law has required firms on certain federal public contracts to grant collectively agreed conditions – though, as of September 2026, no sector ordinance exists yet.

Who can start working in Germany?

As an EU or EEA citizen you need no visa or work permit, and there are no restrictions on employment or self-employment. Other nationals need a residence title that allows the job – see part 2. For an EU Blue Card, the 2026 threshold is €50,700 gross a year, or €45,934.20 in shortage occupations and for recent graduates.

What is the minimum wage in Germany in 2026?

The minimum wage binds every employer in Germany, including foreign ones, and must be paid at the latest by the last bank working day of the following month. It does not cover under-18s without a vocational qualification, apprentices, some internships, or previously long-term unemployed people in their first six months. Several sectors have higher floors.

WhoMinimum per hourValid
Employees covered by the Minimum Wage Act€13.90, then €14.60Since 1 January 2026; from 1 January 2027
Care workers / care assistants / qualified nurses€16.52 / €17.80 / €21.03From 1 July 2026
Temporary agency workers€15.33, then €15.87From 1 September 2026; from 1 April 2027
Building cleaning, wage group 1€15.002026
Qualified painters and varnishers€16.13From 1 July 2026

Source: the Fifth Minimum Wage Adjustment Ordinance, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and German Customs, read 23 September 2026.

A mini-job lets you earn up to €603 a month, or €7,236 a year, and the limit rises automatically with the minimum wage, according to the Minijob-Zentrale. Earn more than €603 a month and you are compulsorily insured in statutory health insurance, up to the threshold of €77,400 a year.

What must your employment contract in Germany say?

Under the Nachweisgesetz, the law on written employment terms, your employer must document the essentials: the parties, start date, pay and its components, working time, holiday, the notice procedure and any collective agreements. Pay, working time and the parties must reach you on your first working day at the latest, most other items by the seventh calendar day and the rest within a month.

TopicWhat the law says
ProbationAt most six months, with two weeks' notice
Fixed term without a reasonUp to two years with up to three extensions – only if you have not worked for that employer before
NoticeFour weeks to the 15th or the end of a month; the employer's notice rises from one month after two years to seven months after 20 years
Form of a terminationIn writing on paper; electronic form is excluded
Protection against dismissalAfter six months, a dismissal must be socially justified; if you were hired after 2003, generally only in establishments with more than ten employees
Challenging a dismissalSue at the labour court within three weeks

Source: the Nachweisgesetz, the Civil Code, the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act and the Protection against Dismissal Act, read 23 September 2026.

Working hours, holidays and sick pay in Germany

The Arbeitszeitgesetz (Working Hours Act) sets a daily limit of eight hours, extendable to ten only if you average eight over six calendar months or 24 weeks. After more than six hours you get at least 30 minutes' break, 45 after more than nine, then at least 11 hours' uninterrupted rest. Sundays and public holidays are work-free in principle. Since a Federal Labour Court decision of 13 September 2022, employers must record all your working time.

Your minimum holiday is 24 working days a year counted on a six-day week, which equals 20 days if you work five; the full entitlement arises after six months.

If you fall ill, tell your employer immediately; for absences over three calendar days a doctor must certify it, electronically if you are in statutory insurance. After four weeks in the job, your employer pays your wages for up to six weeks of illness. Then your Krankenkasse (health insurance fund) pays Krankengeld (sickness benefit): 70 per cent of gross pay, but no more than 90 per cent of net pay.

Pay, unions and works councils

Full-time employees earned a median of €54,066 gross in 2025 including bonuses, according to Destatis (the Federal Statistical Office): €46,013 in eastern Germany excluding Berlin and €55,435 in the west. Tax and social contributions come off your gross pay – parts 7 and 8 explain them.

The Basic Law guarantees everyone the right to form and join a union. A Tarifvertrag (collective agreement) applies directly to members of the signing union and employers' association, and may be departed from only where it allows or in your favour. In 2025, 49 per cent of employees worked in an establishment bound by one; in Berlin, 45 per cent. A Betriebsrat (works council) can be elected wherever at least five permanent employees are entitled to vote, three of them eligible.

How do you get a foreign qualification recognised in Germany?

Germany has more than 400 regulated professions, which you may not practise without recognition. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need it only for those; other nationals often need it for the visa too, even in a non-regulated occupation, according to the Federal Employment Agency. The federal Recognition Finder shows whether your profession is regulated.

StageWhat applies
Receipt of your applicationConfirmed by the competent authority within one month
Decision on equivalenceWithin three months of complete documents; can be extended once
CostsFees and translations are yours; low earners living in Germany can get a recognition grant of up to €600, plus up to €3,000 for training – apply for it first
Foreign degree, non-regulated jobStatement of Comparability from the ZAB (Central Office for Foreign Education): €208, no fee waiver; three months, or two weeks if needed for an EU Blue Card
AdviceHotline Working and Living in Germany, +49 30 1815-1111, Monday to Thursday 9:00–16:00, Friday 9:00–12:00

Source: the Professional Qualifications Assessment Act, Anerkennung in Deutschland, the ZAB and the Federal Employment Agency, read 23 September 2026.

Of about 73,600 recognition decisions in 2025, 44 per cent found full equivalence and 45 per cent required a compensation measure. The Federal Employment Agency warns never to accept a contract if nobody has checked your qualifications or interviewed you.

If your job is ending, register as a job-seeker with the Agentur für Arbeit (employment agency) at least three months before, or within three days if you learn of it later – registering late can cost you unemployment benefit. The free service number is 0800 4 555500. Then register as unemployed on your first day without work at the latest. Arbeitslosengeld (unemployment benefit) generally requires 12 months of insurance within the previous 30 months and pays 60 per cent of your calculated net pay, or 67 per cent with a child. Part 9 covers the Grundsicherungsgeld that replaced the Bürgergeld on 1 July 2026.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Outside the EU/EEA: check that your residence title allows the jobBefore you sign
2Compare the offer with the €13.90 minimum wage and any sector minimumBefore you sign
3Get your written terms – at least pay, working time and the partiesOn your first working day
4Tell your employer your Krankenkasse and your Steuer-ID (tax ID)When you start; the health fund within two weeks
5Check the Recognition Finder; apply for the grant before recognitionBefore you apply
6Register as a job-seeker if your job is endingThree months ahead, or within three days

Source: the Federal Employment Agency, the Minimum Wage Act, the Nachweisgesetz and the Social Code, read 23 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.